Dancing has a way with expression. It allows the soul and body to express and communicate without words. But who needs words when you are dancing? It’s quite captivating and commanding if you think about it. No matter how well or how bad you dance, people will stop and watch. I hope for your sake it's that you are a great dancer, rather than you being the sloppy drunk on the dance floor. But that’s for another story.
Cultural Identity
Dancing also has an attribute of entertaining, or moving the crowd. Throughout history, certain dance moves have stood out from the rest that serve as an identity of a culture or generation. The salsa, tango, and sumba are all tied in with the Latin or South American cultures. During the 1920’s in the United States, everyone was swinging to the beat of the hot sensation of jazz. I’m not a history buff when it comes to dancing, but I can list some dance moves that were popular in certain decades in the US.
Dance Moves Throughout Generations
In the 60’s there was “The Twist” and "Swimming", dance moves that were fun to do during songs from the Beach Boys. In the 70’s, Disco was popular and that was the era when the soul train and the YMCA came out. The 80’s produced quite a bit of dance moves such as the “Cabbage Patch”, “The Sprinkler”, and “The Running Man”.
Iconic Dance Moves
When someone says the MoonWalk, you already know who that exclusively identifies, the one and only Michael Jackson. If I had a dance move that identified me, I would consider that quite an accomplishment. It would be pretty cool to look at people doing my dance and tell people watching them that I made that move. Well, at least I can dream. However it was a dream come true for Alfonso Ribeiro when he performed his iconic dance move, “The Carlton” from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, on Dancing with the Stars.
Dance Move With A Story/History
It was nostalgic watching Alfonso doing “The Carlton”, and it brought me back to when the show was still airing. That’s when it hit me. Although there are dance moves that come and go through the time, or the ones that maintain a presence on the dance floor, there will always be those dance moves that stand alone from the rest.
One Of A Kind
Usually dance moves are able to used in multiple songs, but so far there has been only one song that can be used to do the iconic dance move. Whenever you hear “It’s not Unusual” by Tom Jones, you can’t help but think about "The Carlton" and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Some may say this limits the versatility of the dance, but that’s what makes it special. It is definitely a "one of a kind" dance move that many people love. All former Fresh Prince watchers share an admiration for the character and the show we all love, which has not been the same with any other dance move ever created.
YouTube link of "The Carlton" on Dancing with the Stars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2ROkuG2mAo
